A Prayer for Belonging: Coming Home to Yourself

May I remember
that I do not have to earn
my place in this world.

May I stop asking
who I need to become
to be loved, accepted,
needed or chosen.

Give me the courage
to stand fully in who I am.

When I am tempted to say yes
when my whole being says no,
help me listen.

When I make myself smaller
so someone else can feel comfortable,
help me remember my light.

When I give more than I have,
help me return to myself.

When I stay somewhere
because it is familiar,
help me recognize
the difference between familiarity
and belonging.

When I am afraid to disagree,
remind me that connection
does not require sameness.

When I am afraid to change,
remind me that becoming more myself
is not a betrayal.

Help me receive
without feeling that I must earn it.

Help me give
without abandoning myself.

Help me love
without leaving myself behind.

May I trust the quiet wisdom
of my body,
my breath,
my heart,
and the truth that lives within me.

May I remember:

I do not have to perform
to belong.

I do not have to be needed
to be valuable.

I do not have to be perfect
to be worthy.

I do not have to become someone else
to be accepted.

Let me come home
to myself.

And from that place,
let me meet others
with an open heart.

May my presence
be a place where others
also feel safe to be themselves.

May I belong to myself
so deeply
that I can belong
without losing who I am.

I am fully myself.
And I belong exactly as I am.

Sat Nam.